My trading deal with Airbus stocks already gave me a 26% profit in less than ten days, while the company's market value increased by nearly 5.25%, from €142.50 on January 9 to above €150. However, I don't think this is the right moment to stop.

The overall consensus of market experts on Bloomberg now shows an average one-year price target at €157.73 (+5.13% more to the upside), with some of them predicting it even above €200 per share. The latter scenario is no longer inconceivable, as the European aircraft manufacturer hits all-time highs and outright wins from Boeing, which is suffering reputational damage after the incident with a large hole in place of ripped plug in an emergency door of 737 Max 9 during an Alaska Airlines flight. Boeing management acknowledged their mistake and invited an independent adviser on improving quality control, when many planes are grounded.

The only piece of positive news for Airbus rival is that a small Indian carrier named Akasa Air said this Thursday it is ready to order 150 planes from Boeing. Yet, the order does not include the MAX 9 version, and the company, which began flying in 2022, has a market share of just 4% in India, compared to much bigger companies like IndiGo (60%) and Tata Group (26%).

Let us have a look at a few more pros of waiting and holding Airbus stock, or even purchasing an extra stake in it. On January 11, Airbus reported the new record number of annual jet orders, which corresponded to an 11% pace of growth in 2023 deliveries. To be more precise, it got 2,319 gross orders in the course of the year and 2,094 net orders after cancellations. Now the company officially confirmed the delivery of 735 airplanes to leave its order backlog at 8,598. This sounds quite normal after the flow of new orders soared past pre-pandemic levels amid brisk travel demand. Boeing said it had delivered 528 aircrafts in 2023, while booking 1,314 net new orders after allowing for cancellations. As a result, Airbus maintains the top manufacturing spot against Boeing for the last five consecutive years.

Airbus is fully sold out until the end of the decade for single-aisle jets and 2028 for widebodies, Christian Scherer, its CEO of the core commercial aircraft business said. Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury commented that it wrestled with tight supply chains, had seen "increased flexibility and capability" in its industrial system, so that he was confident Airbus would meet a target of 75 A320neo family jets being assembled a month in 2026. Besides, the A321XLR, the company's latest and longest-range single-aisle jet, would see its first delivery in the second quarter of 2024.